The invention relates to a process and an apparatus for depositing products in a defined manner, from a compartment-containing chain, onto a conveying section.
Using a compartment-containing chain for depositing products, for example hygiene products, is known from WO 99/18019. The compartment-containing chain comprises a transporting belt, which circulates endlessly around deflecting rollers, and has compartments which are formed by parallel intermediate walls and serve for accommodating, for example, laterally projecting products. An ejecting element is provided for depositing the products and can be moved transversely to the movement direction of the filled compartment-containing chain, the laterally projecting borders of the products being intercepted and pushed out of the compartment-containing chain. In this case, they slide, for example, onto a receiving means or into a shaft and are then transported further in order, finally, to be packaged.
The object of the invention is to provide measures in order for it to be possible not just for such a compartment-containing chain to be filled very quickly with individual products at one of its deflecting locations, but also to be emptied again in the depositing region, a plurality of products in each case being combined there, at the same time, to form a stack. This depositing operation, furthermore, takes place within narrow, spatial limits and, for this reason, has to take place extremely quickly.
In order to achieve the object, the invention provides that a pushing device, which intercepts a plurality of products, is moved out of a starting position parallel to the compartment-containing chain and, at the same time, in the pushing-out direction and then back into the starting position again by means of a crank drive via a connecting rod.
The ejecting element or elements provided according to the invention move not just in the ejecting direction, but also transversely thereto, during the ejecting operation. Movements in the direction of the conveying chain and in the ejecting direction are thus superposed. This makes it possible for the ejecting element or elements to intercept a precisely defined number of products and to push them securely and reliably onto a receiving means or into a shaft.
Further features of the invention can be gathered from subclaims and from the description in conjunction with the drawing.